Monticello Live

Let’s continue our look around the Square by looking at the east side of the Square, beginning at the north end of Main Street where it intersects with East McCloy and continuing south to its intersection with East Gaines.

As we look at that east side today, we see the several storefronts that encompass Discount Merchandise. Most of these buildings are two-storied. The northernmost building formerly held Plantation House Furniture. That business was preceded by Van-Atkins before their move to Northpark Mall. Before Van Atkins moved to this corner the location housed Sterling’s, a variety store, followed by Dozier’s Shoes and Trotter’s Grocery, operated by Charlie Green. Mr. Dozier’s shoe store was in a narrow space and was known as the “smallest big store in town” to reflect his large stock of merchandise.

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This week we’ll discuss the history and evolution of the south side of Monticello’s Square. Earliest memories recall a wooden two-story building on the southeast corner that housed the R. C. Bennett Saloon in the 1890s, as evidenced in an old partial picture of the Square we own at the museum. The second story once held a “private” poker room.

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Let’s continue our look around the Square by looking at the east side of the Square, beginning at the north end of Main Street where it intersects with East McCloy and continuing south to its intersection with East Gaines.

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This is an early 1900’s crank style telephone displayed in the kitchen area of the museum, When you would crank this telephone, it would get the attention of an operator who would ask who you were calling, then plug you into that line making a connection and alert the other party with a series of rings, also there would be up to 10 or more of your neighbors on this same “party” line all of whom could at any time pick up their phone receivers and listen in on your conversation.

Come see this and many other interesting items on display at your Drew County Museum, We are open Fridays from 1pm till 5pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 2 pm till 5 pm.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Drew County Historical Society, memberships are $25 Dollars for a single membership or $40 for a family membership. Please mail your membership request to The Drew County Historical Society 404 South Main Monticello, AR 71655.

Last week we stopped at the charming little orange brick structure formerly known as the “Finn McCloy” house. Now we’ll move on south to the next McCloy house.

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This week we will discuss the last block on the west side of North Main. I have chosen to try to cover the entire block because it not only faces Main Street, but also the heart of Monticello – the town’s Square. I had stopped earlier at the First Baptist Church so we could return and review some of the other businesses on that last corner block on North Main Street as we begin our “sentimental journey” around the Square.

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Since we began taking our little “imaginary stroll” down historic North Main Street the Hyatt family name has emerged several times so I wanted to begin this week by enlightening readers about this legendary family’s history.

The first Hyatts migrated from Chester County, South Carolina, in 1846 when Rev. Benjamin Culp Hyatt bought 40 acres for $80 on Rough and Ready Hill and moved his family to Drew County. There he operated a boarding house, preached at Scrough Out Church, practiced medicine, taught school and was a carpenter.

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This late 1800’s French mirror was bought by the home owners (Museum) from a plantation in Vidalia, Louisiana, and was shipped by mule and train to Monticello. This mirror hangs in the living room above the fireplace in the Museum.

Come see this and many other interesting items on display at your Drew County Museum.  We are open Fridays from 1pm till 5pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 2 pm till 5 pm.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Drew County Historical Society, memberships are $25 Dollars for a single membership or $40 for a family membership. Please mail your membership request to The Drew County Historical Society 404 South Main Monticello, AR 71655.

This week we’ll resume our journey south down historic North Main Street and begin at the handsome buff brick Tudor-style home sitting on the attractively manicured lawn at the beginning of the next block on the east side of the street. Built in the late 1920’s by Henry Trotter who married Lucille Simmons from Pine Bluff, the home is one of the most admired in the city. (Henry Trotter was a son to V. J. Trotter and grew up in the house that is now the Trotter House, a bed-and-breakfast.) In 1937 the young couple moved to Pine Bluff and Dr. Johnny Price bought the home. Dr. Price’s daughter, Ann, has many delightful stories and memories centered on growing up in the beautiful home. It was there that Ann was married to Dr. James F. Clark in 1964. (more…)

This week we’ll continue our tour of Monticello’s North Main Street by returning to the north end of the street where the site of the new library sits and “strolling” down the east side of North Main Street.

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This is a Edison Amberola DX on display in the living room at the museum, It was produced in July of 1914 and retailed for $30 dollars. It was the first model that had a internal speaker instead of the “horn” and played a 4 minute plastic disc instead of the old fragile wax disc. This model was also the last of the Edison line to be belt driven and was said to be Edison’s “final achievement”.  He later came out with a more inexpensive worm gear driven model.

Come see this and many other interesting items on display at your Drew County Museum, We are open Fridays from 1pm till 5pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 2 pm till 5 pm.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Drew County Historical Society, memberships are $25 Dollars for a single membership or $40 for a family membership. Please mail your membership request to The Drew County Historical Society 404 South Main Monticello, AR 71655.

This painting of the old courthouse hangs in the music room of the museum and was painted by Dr. James Smith DDS. An African-American, who was originally from, Chicago but lost everything to the great Chicago fire.

Dr. Smith then got a job with the government and was made postmaster in Monticello, where he also taught art classes to the wealthy. After he saved enough money, he moved back to Chicago and married his sweetheart.

The couple then moved back to Arkansas, settling in Little Rock, where Smith was a well known dentist, The couple had four children,including a daughter who was musically inclined and became the first African-American female composer to have her symphony played by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in the late 1890’s.

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Come see this and many other interesting items on display at your Drew County Museum, We are open Fridays from 1pm till 5pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 2 pm till 5 pm.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Drew County Historical Society, memberships are $25 Dollars for a single membership or $40 for a family membership. Please mail your membership request to The Drew County Historical Society 404 South Main Monticello, AR 71655.

Click here for the first edition of the series.

Last week we stopped our tour of North Main Street at the First Presbyterian Church, so we’ll pick up here this week. This location was formerly the site of the “first” hospital in Monticello – the Mack Wilson Hospital.

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Earlier, we “walked” the blocks of North Main that hold the First Presbyterian Church, the noted Allen House and the forlorn block that once was the home of Monticello’s earlier elementary schools in our “tour” of Monticello’s North Main Street.

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This “fiddle” This” Fiddle” was willed to the Ryburn Family in the 1870’s by an unknown benefactor, and is on display in the music room of the museum. 

What makes this violin interesting, and also goes to show the ingenuity of our forefathers, is on the inside of the violin are rattle snake rattlers, It was said that not only did the rattlers produce a soothing vibrato tone to the violin, it also kept the mice from nesting in it.

Come see this and many other interesting items on display at your Drew County Museum,  We are open Fridays from 1pm till 5pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 2 pm till 5 pm.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Drew County Historical Society, memberships are $25 Dollars for a single membership or $40 for a family membership.  Please mail your membership request to The Drew County Historical Society 404 South Main Monticello, AR 71655.

For the next several weeks we’ll take a “fun” tour down Main Street in historic Monticello. We’ll begin on North Main at the “old” hospital grounds and continue down the street taking one side at a time. When we come to the Square, we’ll take a walk around the Square and see how it used to be. Then we’ll continue down South Main Street. I am relying on the excellent memory of many of my good friends as we take this journey down historic Monticello’s Main Street and I want to thank them from the beginning for their insightful recollections. Enjoy! 

Let’s begin on that large, lovely lot at the end of old North Main that is now known as “the old hospital” grounds.

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Hasn’t it been “beastly” hot lately? So much so that the phrase “dog days of summer” comes to mind! I’d always thought the name came from the “lazy, lay around and lethargic” feeling the extreme temperatures seem to evoke in some people and animals. Then I decided to do a little research into the phrase’s origin and learned something surprising.

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In the fall of 2008 a search began to confirm and affirm an old rumor in Drew County, Arkansas. The rumor told of a short-lived Catholic monastery built in the wilds of the county by a Discalced Carmelite priest in the early twentieth century. While many of the details of that place and time may never be fully exposed, the research that began with a search for a “place’ turned out to be as much, if not more, the story of the man who built the “place”.

Even though this is a Drew County story, its roots also run deep into the history of neighboring Desha County, the American Southwest and Mexico, as well as Spain. The story spans two continents, and touches a great part of world history. As the chronicler of the story, I’ve gathered much information, actually walked part of the ground where it happened, and am now excited to share this fascinating part of Drew County history and the exciting adventures of a sojourner in a foreign land.

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The old Drew County Courthouse, on the Town Square

In light of Monticello’s recent improvements to the town square, my thoughts again turn to the old courthouse square and what a treasure it is for Monticello. I can’t help but regret the demolition of the old courthouse that once stood there though.

A brick from he "Old Courthouse on the Square."

Since the old courthouse was torn down in 1933, there are few Drew Countians who remember what a regal structure it was! Built in 1870, it proudly stood in the center of the Square and watched over daily activities in the growing city for 63 years. Its 110-foot tower held a four-faced clock and a large bell. (The clock is lost in antiquity, but the courthouse bell sits proudly by Weevil Pond on the UAM campus.)

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At a recent meeting, the discussion turned to the membership of most organizations in Monticello and it was observed that most civic groups’ memberships are held by older citizens. The future of many organizations may become questionable unless more younger people can be recruited and become involved.

Again I was reminded that history repeats itself when I recalled a newspaper article in the December 17, 1907, which listed seven organizations, referred to as lodges, that were hale and hearty 103 years ago in Monticello. Today only two still thrive and the others’ names have been largely forgotten in today’s Drew County. (more…)

While researching another topic last week, I came upon a little known quote attributed to the legendary frontiersman, Davy Crockett, who traveled through Arkansas in 1835 on his way to his destiny at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. While at a Little Rock banquet held in his honor, Crockett allegedly said, “If I could rest anywhere, it would be in Arkansas where the men are of the half-horse, half-alligator breed such as grows nowhere else on the face of the universal earth but just around the backbone of North America.” Now that should give all the guys an adrenaline rush! What a reputation to uphold!

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On a recent night of dull TV I happened to tune into a nostalgic moment when a lady was recalling a memory from days spent at her grandparents’ home. She was reminiscing about the joy of Grandma’s biscuits at breakfast and the memory of “dragging” one through a thick mixture of sorghum “molasses” and butter. She made my mouth “water” for a taste.

Then I remembered a story I’ve meant to write about the sorghum mill and cooking “pan” we have sitting on the north lawn at the museum. Both have been there longer than I have so I knew nothing about their particular history until recently.

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In light of the recent snowfall I thought I’d share a few childhood “snow” memories with readers. Actually one of my fondest memories isn’t mine, but I love to think about it and the dear lady who first told me her favorite snow memory. (more…)

Many times I have wondered, and been asked, about the lovely, unique building sitting at the corner of North Main and Wood Avenue. (more…)

With Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs opening Saturday, this seems like a time relevant topic for this week’s “memory”.

I had heard for years about a race track that formerly existed in Drew County. The late Walter Moffatt spoke of family outings there in his boyhood. Most folks knew about its existence but had neither seen the racetrack nor knew where it was located. It was lost in antiquity. However, through GIS and aerial photography, I recently saw the old racetrack clearly from the skies and lying on the southwestern edge of Monticello.

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Since this column relates primarily to the history of Drew County, I wanted to share that a piece of our history has reached the pages of a statewide magazine. For the past few years Rural Arkansas, an official publication of the Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc., has featured a country church on the cover of its December issue. (more…)

Merry Christmas!! It will be here soon now! This week I have a rather poignant Christmas memory to share from the late 1930’s.

As you know, America was in the midst of the Great Depression and “cash money” was difficult to be found in those times. In this particular story our storyteller was a student in the 7th grade. At that time, and even in those circumstances, there were Christmas parties scheduled at school and the students “drew names” so each child would receive a gift.

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A little known story from Drew County history was brought to mind last week, while I was attending a meeting of the Public Health Committee of the Arkansas House of Representatives in Little Rock. A most incteresting and kind gentleman whom I had just met asked about the state of the “Bottoms Baptist Orphanage”.

The main office building of the Arkansas Baptist Home for Children, today.

I recall hearing this term when we first moved to Drew County and wondering if it meant some person from “the bottoms”, a local term referring to the Delta, might have founded the Baptist home. However, research proved this to be untrue.

Today I want to share briefly the story about the Bottoms Baptist Orphanage, more familiarly known today as the Arkansas Baptist Home for Children.

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With all the discussion about restoration/rehabilitation of downtown Monticello, and the general talk about the area around the Square, some readers might be interested in a bygone business that once existed on the west side of the Square. Some might even be surprised to learn that our little metropolis once had an “opera house.”

In 1890 a two-story building was constructed on the corner where Mullis Insurance Agency sits today. Built by the Monticello Bank, the building filled a 65-foot wide corner lot and was dubbed the Opera House. It was actually more of a theater, but the term “opera house” was more socially acceptable in those days. The Opera House served Monticello’s citizenry as a cultural, commercial, educational and recreational facility for many years.

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This week’s column weill relate more about one of the bygone eateries that once fed Drew Countians through the memories of a former employee, Aileen Carter Crass. The nearly-forgotten restaurant was the Southern Café.

The story of the Southern Café begins during the depths of the Great Depression in the 1930s. During that period a young, big, “loud” redheaded guy came to town looking for work. His name was Calvin “Red” Jones. How and why he got to Monticello no one remembers, but he sought a job as a cook. Since jobs were nearly non-existent, “Red” created his own business. He started making and selling hot tamales out of a big aluminum “water bucket” on the streets of town. (more…)

This week’s column will discuss the history of one of Drew County’s oldest and best known communities, not only because of its outstanding residents, but also because of its unusual name! This week we’ll visit Possum Valley! (more…)

Every time I head west from the Square down West McCloy Street and make that big turn by E-Z Mart onto North Hyatt my mind goes back to the late 1960s and the mouth-watering food served at restaurant there called Bee Dee’s! (Actually Bee Dee’s sat on the corner of West Gaines and North Hyatt.) (more…)

You may not be too surprised to hear there is a new cat at the museum. This is no fluffy, mouse-chasing cat however, but a special, historical cat. This is actually the paper-mache lion that once stood atop the floats sponsored by the local Lions Club in various local parades and events.

In more recent years, the lion also has been featured in the biennial Drew High School Reunion parade to represent their mascot lion. (more…)

Photo by Stratton and Pintop, courtesy of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Central Arkansas Library System. www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net

Many people aren’t aware that a rather famous author had her roots in Drew County. This gifted writer of 27 books and several short stories had a long and successful career spanning over 40 years and was the recipient of many awards. Her name was Charlie May (Hogue) Simon.

The lady was born in a log cabin on her grandparents’ farm in Drew County somewhere between Monticello and Tillar on August 17, 1897. (Coincidentally, she shares a birthday with my grandmother.)

Her father was Charles Wayman Hogue and her mother was Mary Gill Hogue. Her name, Charlie May, was derived from the first names of both parents. (more…)

Nearly every city has allegedly experienced a brush with a famous person whether he is “good or bad”. Bonnie and Clyde reportedly once visited Monticello. Tillar, a small farming community, also had a visit from legendary outlaws – the notorious James boys.

This event was recorded by Hie C. Birch of Tillar and found in the Drew County Archives. Mr. Birch was born August 24, 1874, on Macon Bayou and died in McGehee on January 10, 1956. At some point before his death he wrote his memories of the James’ visit to Tillar during his youth. This article is a summary of that ignoble visit. (more…)